The state plans to spend $56.1 million through 2019 on the right-of-way acquisitions and the design work, which will consider different bridge types and where piers will be placed in the Potomac, among other considerations, officials said.

"Together, with the support of local elected officials and federal partners, we are making a significant down payment on a wider, safer and more pedestrian-friendly Nice Bridge," said Gov. Martin O'Malley in a statement. "Southern Maryland residents have long waited for a new bridge, and this $50 million investment brings the new bridge one step closer to reality."

There are many steps to go. While initial planning was completed in 2012, the full replacement of the bridge is expected to cost close to $1 billion, officials said.

The plans include a four-lane bridge north and parallel to the existing bridge, complete with a two-way bicycle path.

The full cost of the bridge is not yet funded, and it remains unclear what sort of payment structure the state might decide on. It has recently turned to public-private partnerships, or P3s, for other large transportation projects, and the state will also look for federal funding, given the large price tag.

"We've always said the funding for the Nice bridge would likely come from a variety of sources," said Cheryl Sparks, a MdTA spokeswoman. "Everything would be on the table."

After facing a toll hike and the retirement of the old decal system, some users of the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge between Harford and Cecil counties might get another rude awakening: No more cash tolls and no more toll booths as those crossing the Susquehanna River via Route 40 have long known...

After shooting down the state's request for disaster aid for the second time last week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Maryland could recover costs associated with rioting that broke out after the death of Freddie Gray in other ways.

Sen. Ben Cardin has emerged as a central figure in the debate over the pending nuclear deal with Iran, joining a small group of lawmakers who could decide the future of one of President Barack Obama's most significant foreign policies.

After 10 people were shot — seven of them in one incident — overnight in Baltimore following the city's most violent month in decades, police announced Sunday that 10 federal agents will embed with the city's homicide unit for the next two months.